Things You Need to Know: LePage Vetoed Partial Repeal of ‘Blue Law’
Here are the things you need to know today......
The Kennebec County Jail has undergone a $700,000 renovation. WABI reports they took a indoor rec yard and made a 22 person unit. The move will help relieve some of the costs with overcrowding and boarding prisoners elsewhere. .
Gov LePage vetoed the partial repeal of the current 'Blue Law' that says larger stores must be closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. According to the Bangor Daily News the Republicans failed to over ride the veto. LePage said the repeal did not go far enough.
From the Associated Press:
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that the state has already recorded two cases of encephalitis caused by a tick-borne disease. Officials announced Wednesday that the Maine CDC was notified last week of two cases of Powassan Encephalitis in adults in Maine's Mid Coast. Maine has recorded nine cases since 2000.
Jury selection is getting underway in the trial of a Maine man accused of a brutal killing in Houlton. Testimony in the trial of Reginald Dobbins will begin after a jury is seated in Aroostook County Superior Court. The selection process began Thursday.
Maine's U.S. senators say the federal Department of Education is starting the process of reviewing a college aid grant application that was rejected due to a line-spacing issue. The Maine delegation sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy Devos weeks ago about the error. The senators urged the department to reverse what they called an "absurd bureaucratic decision" at the time.
Maine has become the first state in northern New England to sign off on the $1.5 billion sale of FairPoint Communications to Illinois-based Consolidated Communications. The Maine Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously in favor of the deal Wednesday after Consolidated agreed invest at least $52.2 million in its infrastructure in Maine.
Despite pleadings by a host of world leaders for the United States to remain a party to the Paris climate accords, President Donald Trump seems poised to do just the opposite Thursday. A senior White House official speaking on grounds of anonymity said Wednesday that Trump, who campaigned against the international agreement, was expected to withdraw from it. Trump has long voiced doubts about climate-change theories.
Even if President Donald Trump withdraws U.S. support for the Paris climate change accord, domestic efforts to battle global warming will continue. Dozens of states and many cities have policies intended to reduce emissions of greenhouses gases and deal with the effects of rising temperatures. In left-leaning locales, it's good politics. Even in red states, many consider flood prevention and renewable energy are considered smart business.
In the US and many other parts of the world, this is a worrisome time for LGBT activists, as the pace of civil rights victories has slowed while reports of anti-LGBT violence and persecution surface relentlessly. Recent developments have changed the way LGBT activists are viewing the annual Pride Month events coming up in June. It's usually a time of celebration, but this year there's a shift to confronting hostile rhetoric and discrimination.
Veteran Syrian rebels who have fought Syrian President Bashar Assad for years are struggling to find a place in a bewildering battlefield. In Syria, several wars are all being waged at once by international powers. Battered by defeats, they bounce from alliance to alliance, feeling abandoned by the U.S. and faced with choosing whether to ally with Turkey or al-Qaida.
The Philippines' defense chief says 500 extremists fought in the southern city of Marawi and they had a 'big plan' to occupy the city. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the fighters from various militant groups had a big plan to take over the city. Lorenzana said eight of the fighters killed were foreigners, including Chechen and Arab militants. He estimated up to 100 militants are holed up in the city.
More From 92 Moose
